WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016: The Godfather

The Attitude Era is remembered for many Hall of Fame-level talents, but not many sum up the general “Attitude” more than The Godfather.

After two questionable runs in the WWF in previous years, under the guises of Papa Shango and Kama (later Kama Mustafa), Charles Wright found fame and fortune under the brightly-coloured hat and waistcoat combo of The Godfather. Whether coming to the ring surrounded by “Hoes” or ramping up the Ho Train, his popularity never really diminished, impressive given the amount of characters that were on display during that time.

Godfather was never around championship opportunities, with his only singles title coming with a run with the WWF Intercontinental championship. Winning it in April 1999 from fellow gimmick wrestler Goldust, he was scheduled to drop the title to Owen Hart on that tragic night in May 1999 at the Over The Edge PPV. Holding it for an extra week, he instead lost the title to Owen’s tag-team partner Jeff Jarrett on Raw.

The only other gold held by The Godfather were the Tag-Team championships that he held with Bull Buchanan in the aforementioned Right To Censor faction. It was, however, a short reign as they lost the belts not long before the ill-fated Invasion storyline began.

He returned under the The Godfather character for a few years before retiring from wrestling for good in late 2002. That wasn’t to be the last we saw of him, however, with him making a few appearances on Raw and Smackdown in the following years. His most popular cameo appearance came in 2013 as a surprise entrant in the 2013 Royal Rumble. Sadly, he only lasted 5 seconds before being eliminated by Dolph Ziggler.

He wasn’t the best wrestler, nor the best talker, but in an era full of memorable characters, The Godfather more than held his own and forged himself a memorable place in history, and for this he is to take his place in the WWE Hall of Fame.

The Godfather will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by fellow Attitude Era alumni the APA, John Bradshaw Layfield and Ron Simmons.